Tutoring
by Errand Girl
Summary: For Shiranai Atsune. The Requested topics that inspired this little fic were: Draco x Fem!Harry, and 'if Sirius had lived'. Hope you enjoy. It's the start of Harriet's sixth year at Hogwarts. And this year, Sirius has desided to make things a little more fun for her with a game called the School Year Challange. The only problem is, one of these challanges is going to require help.


Harriet smiled as she flopped onto her bed in her new room at Grimmauld Place. She'd had her own room at the Dursley's, but not like this. Her room at the Dursley's had always felt more like a prison cell, then a safe heaven. This, however…

She looked around the room. Sirius had insisted on them buying new furnishings for her room, so that it would truly be hers, and they wouldn't have to worry about the old stuff falling apart. She was now laying on a queen sized four post bed, covered in emerald green sheets, a dark wood cupboard stood tall next to it, containing an array of new dresses that Sirius had insisted on getting for her, so that she had some girl's clothes to wear, instead of the hand-me-down boy's clothes from Dudley. A vanity sat at the far wall, from the foot of her bed, covered in photos, next to the doorway, sat a floor to ceiling bookshelf, half filled with books. The walls were painted to look like the fields that surrounded Hogwarts, while the ceiling was painted to look like the night sky.

She smiled as she hugged her pillow to herself. She'd never felt so at home, not even at Hogwarts. She was still having trouble believing that this was all real. She was really living with her godfather. She was free of the nightmare that had been her life for the past fifteen years. Jumping off her bed she went to go see what Sirius was doing.

Walking down winding stairwell that made the body of the building, she heard someone moving in the family tree room. Creeping up, she peeked around the doorway, to spot Sirius, running a hand over the painted, criss-crossing branches. Stepping in quietly, she looked around at the painted walls full of faces. She should be used to having pained faces surrounding her; at least these ones didn't move or talk. But, she still found it more than a little creepy. Her sight focused on a particularly familiar face, wearing a green Robin Hood-esc hat and a sneer. Glaring at it she pocked her tongue out the painting of the sod.

A slight blush formed on her cheeks as she heard a soft chuckle from behind her.

"Harriet, I know that you two don't get along, but there's no need to be so childish." Sirius said in amusement.

Harriet huffed in annoyance. "He's the jerk here, not me. I still can't believe you're related to him."

"You are now, too. You know." He countered with an amused grin, as she made dramatic gaging sounds. "If you really tried, you two might actually manage to go through the school year without going at each other's throats."

Harriet snorted. "Yeah, sure. That'll be the day."

Sirius chuckled. "Your father used to say the same thing about a lot of things. That is, until we started up the SYC."

"SYC?"

"The School Year Challenge," He grinned. "It was a game the four of use played, back when we attended Hogwarts. Each year, we'd write a list of challenges put them in a hat and draw at random. The person that completed most of the challenges on their list that year won."

Harriet was very interested. That sounded like fun. "What did they win?"

"Varied from year to year. But we all agreed on what the prize would be, before the challenge started." He grinned at her. "You up for a challenge, little lady?"

Harriet grinned. "You're on."

* * *

Harriet smiled as she looked around the girl's dormitory. It was great to be back in Hogwarts. She had just finished unpacking all of her things and was about to start looking over the School Year Challenge list that Sirius had given her. They'd agreed that the prize for this challenge would be that the winner got to chooses what they did for the holidays.

She pulled the envelope containing the list out of her draw and opened in enthusiastically. She pulled it out only enough to read the first challenge. Which read: 'Go one week without getting in a fight'.

Her eye twitched. She knew exactly who Sirius was referring to with this. She tapped the envelope to her chin in thought. So long as she avoided him, she should be fine. Can't fight with someone you don't see.

However, that was easier said than done. Malfoy seemed to be particularly interested in bothering her. It hadn't even been an hour since she'd read the challenge, before the annoyance approached her and her friends.

She had been sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, pouring over one of her text books, when he arrived.

"Hello, Potter." Malfoy said in that usually condescending tone of his.

Harriet's grip tightened slightly on her text book, as she bit back a groan of annoyance and disappointment.

"Hello, Malfoy." She said calmly, keeping her eyes on her book.

She could feel many pairs of eyes boring into her and she resisted the urge to huff. It wasn't that rare that she didn't rise to Malfoy's bait. Right?

"Oh, has someone finally taught the brat how to talk to her betters?" Malfoy said mockingly.

Harriet took a deep breath to calm herself down. Once she was sure she had her temper under control, she placed her book down on the table and turned to face Malfoy fully.

"Malfoy," She began politely. "I understand that you don't like me, and that you want to take every opportunity to make things difficult for me. And while I would normally indulge you, I'm afraid I don't have the time right now. I am trying to read my books for class, so could we save this for another time?" As he opened his mouth, as if to protest, she quickly added. "Please?"

Malfoy stared at her with a confused and calculating expression. For a moment, Harriet thought he was going to continue trying to argue with her. But, then he turned on his heel and began walking away.

"You're lucky I'm in such a good mood, Potter." He called over his shoulder. "We'll finish this later."

Harriet's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he left the room. That was it? She'd expected him to keep insulting her. Instead he just… listened to her request? Because she said 'please'? IT WAS THAT EASY?!

"What, the bloody hell, have I been arguing with him for then?!" She groaned as her face fell onto her text book.

* * *

She could not believe she was doing this. Sneaking into the dungeons, looking for Malfoy under her invisibility cloak, was _not_ how she'd wanted to spend her afternoon. However, desperate times called for desperate measures. The newest task on her SYC was to 'pass all of her NEWTs'. Simple, but, considering her complete lack of understanding for potions, impossible.

Her first thought had been to ask Hermione to help her study. But, she's been so buried in her own studying, that had hadn't even realised the Harriet was trying to talk to her. Beside, Hermione always had a habit of getting lost in her own work, and forgetting that she was meant to be helping Harriet anyway. So, maybe it was for the best.

Ron hated Potions almost as much as she did, so asking him was out. Neville blew up the caldron even more than she did. Luna had little interest in studying. There was no way in Tartarous that she was going to ask Fred or Gorge. She needed someone that really knew what they were doing with potions. Thus here she was sneaking around the dungeons like a thief, waiting for a certain git to show up.

She bit back a frustrated sigh as she saw said git walking towards her. She made a quick survey, to ensure that he was alone, before pulling off her cloak, and folding it under her arm.

"Pst. Hey, Malfoy." She hissed.

The blond looked up in stunned surprise at the familiar voice calling his name. Spotting Harriet, he walked up to her with a raised eye brow. He opened his mouth to say something, but she put a finger to her lips, before motioning for him to follow her. Once they were away from any of the main halls, hidden away in a small alcove, Harriet motioned for him to speak.

"What's going on here, Potter?" Malfoy asked, suspicious and a little curious.

"Straight to the point, huh?" Harriet rolled her eyes. "As much as I really wish it didn't have to come to this, I need to ask a favour."

He smirked. "And what does the Great Harriet Potter require of me?"

"In a word: Tutoring."

"What."

There was a long pause as Harriet let Malfoy register what she had just said. When he finally got over his shock and disbelief, he levelled her with a calculating look.

"And you are asking me, why?"

Harriet took a deep breath and repressed the erg to grimace. She was about to admit something she really didn't want to.

"Because, aside from Hermione, You're the best person I know, when it comes to Potions. So, you are the best bet I have at passing my NEWTs. There, I said it!" She groaned.

"Then why not ask Granger?"

"She's so absorbed in her own studying, she didn't even realise I was there."

The was a pause as Malfoy rubbed his chin in thought. "What's in it for me?"

Harriet sighed. It was time to bit her pride and bit the bullet. "You get bragging rights as the only reason I passed, and I'll owe you a favour to be cashed in at any time of need."

Malfoy smirked and his eyes flashed. He looked, to the entire world, like the 'cat that caught the canary'.

"Deal."

* * *

"What do you think you're doing?"

Harriet looked up at her 'tutor' in confusion. "Um… adding the Chizpurfle fangs?"

It was the first day of their tutoring sessions, and already Malfoy was looking at her like she was an idiot. His eyes were narrowed and he was looking down his nose at her. Not a difficult task, as she was sitting on a couch the Room of Requirement had graciously supplied, while he was standing.

"You're supposed to add those one at a time." H said sternly.

"Huh?" Harriet began to quickly skim the recipe in her book. "But, it doesn't say anything about that in the book."

Malfoy shook his head. "That's how Chizpurfle fang is added to anything. We were taught that in second year." He pinched the bridge of his nose with an exasperated sigh. "Okay. I think I'm beginning to see the problem."

As he said this, a book titled 'Beginner's Guide to Potions' appeared on the table, next to the cauldron. He pushed it towards Harriet, as he pulled the cauldron away.

"I want you to make a table with methods of adding ingredients on one side, and ingredients on the other." He said

Harriet looked at him sceptically. "Why?"

"Because, your memorisation skills are terrible." He said bluntly. "You have good instincts, which is why you can pick up defence spells easily and fly your broom like an expert. But, potions are all about remembering a multitude of small details. Like how to add Chizpurfle fang."

Feeling incredibly embarrassed, Harriet silently did as she was instructed.

* * *

Harriet's heart hammered in her chest as she stared at the folded piece of paper in her hands. This was it. The moment of truth. The time for her to see if all those hours of being tutored by Malfoy were not in vain.

She hadn't opened it in class, when she got it. She didn't want anyone to see her score, if she'd flunked. So, she waited until she'd found a quiet alcove, where she could be alone. She needed to open it quickly. Malfoy was probably waiting to hear her results in the Room of Requirement.

Taking a deep breath, she squeezed her eyes shut. Hastily, she unfolded the paper and brought it up to her face. Hesitantly, she peeked one eye open to glance at the result. Instantly, her eyes widened in shock and amazement as she stared at the score in front of her.

She positively beamed.

* * *

"Draco!"

Harriet burst into the Room of Requirement, barely remembering to close the door behind her. She rushed to the startled blond, whom had been waiting for her. Her NEWT results were clutched in her hand, slightly crinckled from the tight grip.

"Look, look!" She babbled excitedly, as she held up the paper in both hands for him to see.

Still stunned and confused, Malfoy's eyes scanned the test scores on the sheet. When he reached the result for her potion NEWT, he blinked, then looked again. In clear, black ink was written 'Outstanding'. A ghost of a smile tugged his lips as he turned his eyes to Harriet, looking quite pleased, as well as impressed.

"Well done, Potter." He said sincerely. "You surpassed my expectations."

"I was only hoping to pass. This… This is amazing!" She was far too giddy and happy to think about what she was saying. "I never would have pulled this off if it weren't for you. Bloody hell, I owe you one big time. Thank you so much."

She continued to ramble excitedly as Malfoy watched in amusement. "Please, do continue. I want to hear more about how great I am."

Harriet chuckled and gave his arm a playful punch. "Don't push your luck. I may be really happy, right now, but that doesn't mean I won't still counter-curse you arse if you push it."

He gave his own small chuckled. "Fair enough. But," He grinned. "You still owe me one."

* * *

Harriet stared in awe at the necklace in her hands. It was a thin gold chain, with a small gold lily hanging from it. She'd just gotten back to her room from meeting with Malfoy, when Hedwig had put the small box, with the necklace inside, on her bed, along with a sealed envelope.

Placing the necklace next to her, she slowly opened the letter, to find that it was from Sirius.

'Dearest Harriet.

I was just cleaning through some of the storage rooms when I found this. I'm quite shocked that it hadn't been taken during my 'extended stay' at Azkaban.  
This necklace had belonged to your mother. Your father had gotten it for her for their first anniversary as a couple. She never took it off, before you were born.  
You loved the thing almost as much as your mother, and one day had tugged on it a little too hard, and snapped the chain. You cried for hours after that.  
Your mother had sent it in for repairs, but you all had needed to go into hiding before it could be returned.  
Lily would have wanted you to have it. And maybe, one day, you'll give it to someone special in your life too.

All my love  
Sirius'

Gingerly, Harriet pulled the necklace out of the box, before placing it around her neck. The chain was the perfect length. Long enough that she could hide it under her uniform, but not so long she could slip it over her head.

She smiled as she thought on Sirius' words. 'Give it to someone special', huh?

* * *

"Who are you taking to Professor Slughorn's Christmas Party?"

Harriet sighed as she leaned against the bookshelf behind her. They had just been trying to figure out how to approach the professor, when Hermione had asked the question.

"I don't know. Who would I ask?" She pushed off of the shelf and led her to one of the quiet desks. "I'm not cruel enough to ask Neville. Fred and George would literally blow the dinner sky-high. And every other guy I can think of would either rather die, or would only agree so they could brag to their friends."

"Well, you're going to need to make a decision soon." Hermione stated. "The dinner's tonight."

In the end, Harriet decided she'd rather go alone, than with some self-interesting jerk. Hermione had invited Cormac, in an attempt to annoy Ron.

All in all, the dinner had been a nightmare. Poor Hermione had had to be on the receiving end of everyone's arrogance and judgement. While Harriet had had to put up with the questioning looks as to why the Golden Girl had not arrived with a date. She was hiding at the back, behind some curtains, contemplating just cutting her losses and leaving, when she heard a loud commotion coming from the entrance.

Startled, she turned to see Filch dragging Malfoy up to Slughorn. She moved quickly, as Filch explained that he'd found the teen trying to sneak in. As Malfoy opened his mouth to protest, Harriet spoke first.

"About time you got here." She said in exasperation, with her hands on her hips. "You know, when you said you were going to be late, I didn't think you meant _this_ late."

The three males all turned surprised gazes on her. Harriet didn't even twitch. She was used to getting looks of suspicion and doubt by now.

Professor Slughorn was the first to recover. "Is young Mr Malfoy your plus-one, Harriet?"

She nodded without hesitation. "Yeah. Sorry for all the trouble."

The Professor waved her off. "No trouble at all, my dear." He turned on Malfoy with a slight frown. "But you, my boy, should know better than to keep a young lady waiting. Let him go now, Mr Filch. He's done nothing wrong."

Mr Filch grumbled unhappily as he released his hold on Malfoy's arm. Before he could react, Harriet moved in. Grabbing his hand, she began to lead him away from the two men.

"Come one." She said cheerfully. "You completely missed dinner, but I think there's still some dessert left."

Once they were a safe distance from anyone that could overhear, Harriet let go of Malfoy's arm and turned to him. He was giving her a look that Harriet could only describe as a mix between 'When did I enter the Twilight Zone' and 'Who are you and what did you do with Potter'.

"Why did you help me?" He asked confusion evident in his voice.

Harriet shrugged. "Call it paying back that favour I owed you for tutoring me." She grimaced. "Trust me, you don't want Filch deciding on a punishment for you. That is a fate I wouldn't wish on anyone."

Malfoy wince. "I've heard the horror stories. Thanks, I guess." He then seemed to think of something. "Why didn't you already have a plus-one?"

Harriet raised an eyebrow at him. "Let me answer that with another question. Who would I ask?"

Malfoy immediately opened his mouth to answer, but stop, seeming to think it through, before he frowned. "Point taken."

"Why did you want to be here, anyway?" She asked. "This isn't exactly... festive."

He flinched and looked away. "I was bored."

She could tell it was a lie, but she didn't press. There was something in his eyes that told her that it wasn't something she wanted to ask. She was surprised when he suddenly looked at her with a grin.

"Though, I'm glad I came. I had no idea you cleaned up so well, Potter."

Harriet felt her face heat up in embarrassment. "Very funny."

"How are Slughorn's classes anyway?" He asked, continuing to grin. "You holding up in the advanced classes?"

Instead of answering, she huffed and folded her arms. She wasn't going to tell him about the Half-Blood Prince's text book. He'd probably try to tell on her.

"That well, huh?" He gave a dramatic sigh and shrugged. "Well, I guess that I have no choice but to offer you my services once again. We'll meet in the Room of Requirement at five, starting tomorrow."

Harriet's mouth dropped open.

* * *

Harriet sighed as she tried to concentrate on what Malfoy was telling her. Her attempt to get Slughorn to talk to her had been a complete disaster, and now he was doing everything in his power to avoid her. She needed him to tell her what he had talked to Riddle about all those years ago, but she couldn't figure out how.

She was brought back to reality, as Malfoy smacked her head lightly with the book in his hand. He was giving her a stern, yet slightly concerned look, which she wasn't used to.

"You've been spacing out all day." He said simply, there was a long silence before he asked. "Penny for your thought?"

Harriet sighed. "I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you."

"Come on, Potter. I haven't told anyone about our tutoring sessions. I think I can keep whatever's bothering you a secret too."

Harriet sighed. "Considering it's about Voldamort and my supposed destiny, I think that puts it into debate."

Malfoy scratched the back of his head and sat down next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Look, I know we've never gotten along, but... if it was a choice between you and You-Know-Who, I'd pick you without hesitation. So, you don't have to worry on that front."

Harriet stared at him hard, looking for any sign of a lie. To her surprise, there was none. Malfoy was being completely honest with her. She sighed. It would be nice to vent to someone about this. Hermione and Ron were so caught up in their little love triangle that she was amazed that they remembered the rest of the world existed.

"Voldamort talked to Slughorn about something back when he was a student. I don't know what it was, but it has something to do with dark magic and how his powers work. I tried to get him to talk about it, but it backfired. Badly. Now he's avoiding me like the plague, and I have no idea what to do." She confessed miserably.

Malfoy pursed his lips as he rubbed her back sympathetically. There was a long moment of silence, before her spoke.

"Didn't you win some Felix Felisus from him in a contest not long ago?"

* * *

Harriet tiptoed as quietly into the bathroom as she could. Malfoy had been acting off for a while now. He'd been putting off their tutoring sessions, and was looking paler and thinner with each passing day. He looked like someone with a knife at their throat. She wasn't dumb enough to deny that she was worried about him.

As she made her way into the abandoned bathroom, she began to hear soft sounds echoing off the walls. Sounds, which were very familiar to her ears. Someone was crying. Carefully, she peaked around the corner, to see who was there. Her heart squeezed painfully as she saw the form of Malfoy hunched over as he sobbed over one of the sinks.

Slowly, so as not to startle him, she walked up to him. Once she was close enough, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Almost immediately, the blond starting trying to struggle out of her hold, but she held firm. Gradually, his thrashing stopped and she rested her forehead on his shoulder as he sobbed.

When they subsided, she removed her arms, and instead took his left hand in both of hers. He turned around slowly and stared at her with teary, uncertain eyes.

"Why are you...?"

He didn't need to finish the question. Harriet already knew what he meant.

She smiled. "Because... You're my friend... Draco."

* * *

Harriet trembled and tears stung her eyes as she watched the scene before her from her hiding place. Draco had his wand pointed squarely at Dumbledore while the old man watched him with calm, patient eyes. Draco's whole body was trembling and she could see tears in his own eyes, his face twisted into a pained expression. She didn't know what to do. She was so scared. She couldn't let Draco become a killer. But she'd promised Dumbledore she wouldn't interfere, so he had to have a plan, right?

"Draco," Dumbledore said softly. "Let me help you."

"You can't!" The teen snapped back. "Don't you get that?! I have to do this. He swore to me… If I kill you, she'll be safe. Even if she hates me… I can't let him kill her."

Dumbledore's eyes widened in surprise. This was a turn of events that he had not been expecting. "Harriet?" Draco took a sharp breath, which was all the confirmation Dumbledore needed. "I was not aware that you two had become so close."

"Turns out tutoring someone in potions is an effective way to get close to them."

Harriet's heart felt like it was being ripped out of her chest. He was doing it for her. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run to him. She wanted to cry. But, her body was frozen. She didn't know what to do. She could hear the Death Eaters making their way up the stairs now.

Bellatrix walked up to Draco, praising him for cornering Dumbledore. She saw him grimace as she kissed the back of his neck, and felt sick to her stomach. She could only stand there, hand clenched over her heart and Draco struggled with the weight of his decision. The Death Eaters were taunting him now telling him to finish what he'd started, comparing him to his father. Tears were spilling from her eyes now, but she couldn't bring herself to care. At this point, she knew not everyone was going to be walking out of here alive.

She sensed someone behind her, and spun around to come face to face, with Snape. He was holding his wand, pointed loosely at her as he watched her with confused eyes. She looked back at Draco, than to the professor.

With a small sniff, she carefully mouthed, 'save him'.

Snape blinked in surprise, before fully lowering his wand. Locking eyes with her, he gave a small serious nod, before moving around to the stairs. As soon as he was out of eye sight, Harriet's head snapped back up to the scene playing out above her. As Snape stepped out into everyone view, a deafening silence fell over everyone. Harriet bit back a sob as she heard Dumbledore address the former Potions Master.

"Severus. Please."

She slapped a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming as the two words she'd been dreading were spoken.

"Avada Cadavra."

The moment Dumbledore's body left her sight, all the strength in her body evaporated. Unable to even keep herself standing, she fell to her knees, tears flowing freely from her eyes. She felt so torn. She knew that if Dumbledore hadn't died, Riddle would have likely killed Draco. She felt so happy and relieved that he was going to be okay. But, she felt horrible for feeling that way. Dumbledore, the man that had been so kind to her, had basically been like a grandfather to her, was dead. She shouldn't feel happy.

She flinched away as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning she saw the pained face Draco gazing at her. With a wrenching sob, she threw herself at him, burring her face in his chest, her broken cries no longer being silenced by her hands. His arms slowly wrapped around her, gently, as he let her cry in his arms.

* * *

Harriet stood on the balcony of the observatory, staring out at the setting sun, next to her stood Draco, one arm wrapped around her loosely. She could never hate him for what happened. Nor could she hate Snape. Draco had been trying to protect her, and Snape had been trying to protect him. No. The only one that she would direct her ire at would be Voldamort. She'd need to talk to Sirius about what had happened soon. But, right now, she wanted to make this quiet moment with Draco last as long as possible.

"I want to go with you." He whispered softly.

"I want you to come." She said honestly.

She'd already told him about the Horcruxs, and about her plan to go searching for them. He didn't seem very surprised by any of it. Perhaps, he'd already suspected Voldamort having magic like that.

He sighed and tightened his grip on her slightly. "But, I can't."

"I know."

There was a rustle of fabric, as Draco rummaged in his pocket for something. After a few seconds, he seemed to find what he was looking for and turned, so that he was facing her. Silently, he brought up his hand to show her the silver ring sitting there. It was a big, men's ring, with a symbol engraved into it. It was a shield with a winged serpent on each side, a capital 'M' carved into the middle of the shield.

"It's my family ring." He explained. "It bares the Malfoy family crest." He took her hand and gently placed the ring in it, before closing her fingers around it. "Keep it with you, and… think of me."

Without a second thought, Harriet reached around to the clasp of her mother's necklace. Removing the chain, she turned it arounds and placed it around Draco's neck. The chain was a little too short for him, causing the gold lily yo rest at the hollow between his collar bones.

"This belonged to my mum." She explained. "Sirius told me to give it to someone special…"

Draco brought up his hand to gently cup her face. Raising her gaze, Harriet stared into his eyes as he stared right back. They stayed like that for several long seconds, before Draco lowered his head, until there were mere inches between them.

"I'll do what I can. I won't let him hurt you." He breathed.

"Don't get yourself hurt either." Harriet responded in a hushed whisper.

With a soft smiled, he closed the gap, bringing their lips together. It was light, a mere brush of lips, lasting no longer that a few seconds. But, it was perfect, and it was theirs.


End file.
